A light went on

Something occurred to me the other day and I couldn't believe it took me this long to link the two things together.

After Thanksgiving, we put up our family Christmas tree and I had to buy some new lights, because the old ones were just too old. OK, that was my cover story, truth be told, I wanted some new LED lights for the tree and give them a whirl. I'll tell you what -- those things are bright, really bright.

Then a few days later I pulled in the driveway after getting off work. The night was a little stressful and I was a little in a foul mood even after listening to my beloved Force-Cast on the way home. I pull up to my house and in the window red, green, orange and blue lights are blazing and I something happened. I smiled and let out a huge sigh. What a way to end the night.

Could Christmas light be therapeutic? I thought about it long and hard and performed a little experiment. I got my kids in the living room watching some TV and without saying a word I plugged in the lights. Within minutes, both my girls found their eyes drawn to the tree and their moods lightened. Unfortunately, they were too drawn to the tree and I had to whip out the Super Glue and save the day.

Maybe I'm looking into this a little more than I should, but I wonder if anyone else out there has noticed their blues chased away by twinkling lights on their tree.

My New Year's resolution this year is going to be to keep my Christmas lights up all year round. If I have to wind them around the chair or sofa or whatever, I want that colorful pick-me-up. I of course haven't run that idea past my wife and if my big plans go like they usually do, I'll have a set of mini lights hanging somewhere in my garage.

Happy Holidays.